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Starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as the Lord and Lady Macbeth, The Tragedy of Macbeth retells the renowned William Shakespeare play almost line-for-line. However, it’s the performances that help this film soar. The film is one of the most accurate adaptations of Shakespeare’s classic in years, if not ever.
“All The World’s a Stage…”
The Tragedy of Macbeth is already notable for being the first Joel Coen movie not to involve his brother, Ethan – not even in a producing capacity. While the movie won’t hit the right chords for many people, it will certainly find its audience.
Set designer, Stefan Dechant recreates 11th Century Scotland by making it look like we’ve stepped right into the middle of a stage production of the classic Macbeth play. Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography also adds to this with some extremely stylised choices that help make the film look like a painting as well as a “living play”.
At times, the sets can be a bit distracting, particularly the outdoor scenes which make the sets even more obvious that they are, well, sets, but some of these moments do add to the charm of the film. Specifically, a scene in which Lady Macbeth opens her bedroom door and looks up to the night sky which is made up of studio lights. The choice may not sound good on paper, but it only added to the world that Joel Coen has created.
The film also has some very beautiful shots, too many to name, but don’t be shocked if Delbonnel is nominated for an Oscar Award for his work.
“… And All the Men and Women Merly Actors”
As I mentioned at the start, the performances are where the movie excels.
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand (the latter of whom also produces) are the obvious standouts with both bringing OSCAR-calibre chops to the table in what is likely among the best performances of the year. However, they will probably become frighteningly undefeated, which will be in part due to the movie being based on Shakespeare, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but also because Apple TV+ still isn’t reaching the numbers they want.
And the cast is stacked with talented performances, but my favourite was Kathryn Hunter, who plays each of the three witches. Hunter, who is no stranger to Shakespeare or physical theatre, puts both of these talents to good use, but I don’t want to spoil too much of how Coen and Hunter bring the witches to life.
“What is Past is Prologue”
I’m no Macbeth expert, and it’s been a while since I’ve read the play but from my memory, The Tragedy of Macbeth is a word-for-word adaptation of the Shakespeare play. And Coen uses his expert direction to bring scenes traditionally omitted from other live-action adaptations and makes them work with ease – particularly the witches and when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane.
Filled to the brim with excellent performances, cinematography, and a genius set design, Joel Coen has done a terrific job writing and directing the movie. It’s just a shame it’ll be relegated to a streaming service few people have in possession.
Headlines are all quotes from two Shakespeare plays.
- “All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely actors” – from ‘As You Like It‘.
- “What is Past is Prologue” from ‘The Tempest’.
The Tragedy of Macbeth will be available to stream on Apple TV+ from January 14th 2022 following its limited theatre run, beginning December 25th 2021.
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